Moist Soil Management Classes Begin here in two weeks

and i am the student......not really the teacher, as this will be my first year of trying it. last year, as you know we completed the HAVEN in September. now we will begin the process. I am using the USDA Shallow Water Management For Wildlife conservation bulletin, printed in Nov. of 1999.

Year 1, this year, I will begin my draw down on May 15th. 2 inches per day for about 10 days (there is an average 20" in there right now, which is full load up to the spillway.

I will post up a pix once a month, May through October, to give you an idea what the transition will look like. I will be planting some jap millet and the rest will be, hopefully, natural wetland vegetation.

slowed down the draw. it will be the end of next week before all the water out, or at least all that will drain out. there will likely be some standing water in pockets. that should evaporate and the only water would be in the channel.

one thing i have noticed, that as the water gets lower, more waterfowl show up. it is now at about 6 inches and the honkers and mallards are stacking up. next week they will have to find a new roost until slammerization season opens. :)

as previously mentioned, the water is down this week. almost on schedule. and as menitioned i have water pockets all over. next week i will channel the water down along the right hand side as you look at this pix. also, we will build up pit island and reset the pits. once that is complete, i will seed a couple acres with millet and let the rest go through it's natural vegetation growth. the algae you see should breakdown and provide some great natural fertilizer for growth............at least that's what the book says....:)